Grigor Vachkov, often called Grishata ( bg, Григор Вачков - Гришата; 26 May 1932 – 18 March 1980) was a Bulgarian

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, honored with the award of "People's actor" in the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; bg, Народна Република България (НРБ), ''Narodna Republika Balgariya, NRB'') was the official name of Bulgaria, when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the ...

. He had more than 41 appearances and leading roles in the Bulgarian cinema. Vachkov got a broad popularity after the role of Mitko the Bomb in the TV series ''At Each Kilometer'' (1969–71). Despite his death in 1980, he remains as one of the leading actors in the history of the Bulgarian

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of Film, motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens (o ...

of that time. During the 1960s and 1970s, Vachkov starred in classic film productions as '' Torrid Noon'' (1965), '' The Tied Up Balloon'' (1967) both written by

Yordan Radichkov Yordan Radichkov ( bg, Йордан Радичков; 24 October 1929 – 21 January 2004) was a Bulgarian writer and playwright. Literary critics Adelina Angusheva and Galin Tihanov called him "arguably the most significant voice of Bulgarian ...

, ''

Whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

'' (1970) directed by Petar B. Vasilev, ''The Kindest Person I Know'' (1973), '' The Last Summer'' (1974) also written by Radichkov, ''Almost a Love Story'' (1980), '' The Truck'' (1980) and especially his role as Banko in '' Manly Times'' (1977) directed by Eduard Zahariev. Vachkov is also known for his numerous appearances on the stage of the Satirical Theatre „Aleko Konstantinov“,

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. ...

Biography and career

He was born as Grigor Vachkov Grigorov on 26 May 1932 in the village of Tranchovitsa,

Levski Municipality Levski municipality ( bg, Община Левски) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative centre - the town of Levski. The municipality embraces a territory of 414 k ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. In 1955 he graduated from the Krastyo Sarafov National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts. After the graduation, Vachkov was appointed in the

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

Theatre for two years. In 1957 he joined the troupe of the newly founded Satirical Theatre „Aleko Konstantinov“ in Sofia. His debut in films came in 1960. The TV series ''

Every Kilometer ''Every kilometer'' ( bg, На всеки километър) is a Bulgarian Televised-movie series from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The series consists of 26 episodes divided into two parts as 13 episodes - the first covering the period bet ...

'' (1969–71), where he plays the role of Mitko the Bomb, brought him a wide popularity. Vachkov took part in films that gained international success such as ''The Last Summer'' (1974) and ''Manly Times'' (1977). His last film was ''Mera spored Mera''. He died at the beginning of shooting and the script had to be changed so that the film could be finished. He is the father of the actress Martina Vachkova and was a good friend of the writer

Partial filmography

* '' Sterne'' (1959) - Montyor v rabotilnitzata (Repair-man) * ''Dom na dve ulitzi'' (1960) - Guni Hunata * ''Hitar Petar'' (1960) * ''Bednata ulitza'' (1960) * ''Prizori'' (1961) * ''Hronika na chuvstvata'' (1962) - Iliycho * '' Tyutyun'' (1962) * ''Smart nyama'' (1963) - Pesho * ''Neprimirimite'' (1964) - Vaklin * ''Verigata'' (1964) - Karutzaryat * ''Neveroyatna istoriya'' (1964) - Shofyorat (The Driver) * ''Antike Münze, Die'' (1965) - Boncho * '' Goreshto pladne'' (1965) - Selyanin (A peasant) * ''Dzhesi Dzeyms sreshtu Lokum Shekerov'' (1966) - Lokum Shekerov * ''

Privarzaniyat balon ''The Tied Up Balloon'' ( bg, Привързаният балон, translit=Privarzaniyat balon, italic=yes) is a Bulgarian satirical comedy-drama film released in 1967, directed by Binka Zhelyazkova, starring Georgi Partsalev, Grigor Vachkov, Ge ...

'' (1967) - Chovekat s pishtova (Man with gun) * ''Gibelta na Aleksander Veliki'' (1968) - Aleksander Karev * ''Byalata staya'' (1968) - Kloun * ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cerva ...

'' (1968, TV musical) * ''

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

'' (1969) - Ilyo Mitovski * ''Beliyat kon'' (1969, Short) - Dzheri * ''Na vseki kilometar'' (1969, TV Series) - Mitko 'Bombata' * ''Kit'' (1970) - Kapitanat * ''Knyazat'' (1970) - Zografat * ''Na vseki kilometar — II'' (1971, TV Series) - Mitko Bombata * ''Byagstvo v Ropotamo'' (1973) - Yusuf * ''Nay — dobriyat chovek, kogoto poznavam'' (1973) - Semo Vlachkov * ''Vetchni vremena'' (1974) - Gunchev * '' Posledno lyato'' (1974) - Ivan Efreytorov * ''Selkor'' (1974) - Mangafata * ''Spomen za bliznachkata'' (1976) - Parvan * '' Mazhki vremena(1977) - Banko * ''Sreshtu vyatara'' (1977) - Kapitan vtori rang Grigorov * ''Utroto e nepovtorimo'' (1978) - Michev * ''Pokriv'' (1978) - Murgaviya * ''Vsichki i nikoy'' (1978) - Mustafa * ''Instrument li e gaydata?'' (1978) - Popat * ''Toplo'' (1978) - Maystor * ''Yumrutzi v prastta'' (1980) - Birnikat Tasho * ''Pochti lyubovna istoriya'' (1980) - Parushev * ''Trite smurtni gryaha'' (1980) - Mitar * ''Vazdushniyat chovek'' (1980) - Bay Foti * '' Kamionat'' (1980) - Dedleto * ''Mera spored mera'' (1981) - Apostol voevoda * ''Mera spored mera'' (1988, TV Series) - Apostol Petkov Enidzhevardarskoto Sontze (final appearance)

References

Sources

* *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vachkov, Grigor 1932 births Bulgarian male film actors Bulgarian male stage actors Bulgarian male television actors People from Levski, Pleven Province Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery 1980 deaths 20th-century Bulgarian male actors